Sunday, January 31, 2016

Deja vu, between science and spirituality

If you ever feel that something or someone you meet for the first time is your familiar, it is among the 90% of people around the globe who have experienced déjà vu. Experts have not only delved into the phenomenon, but they found even benefits in everyday life.

The concept of déjà vu there in 1876 when the French philosopher Émile leisurely Boirac studied and named. Subsequently, experts from around the world have tried to expound their theories on the phenomenon. Among them, Sigmund Freud, who associated with repressed desires or memories related to a stressful event, and Carl Jung, who suggested that false sense of familiarity born from accessing the collective unconscious. With time, people's interest in science to detect causes of déjà vu decreased significantly, and that because of its bad reputation: it was associated with a previous life experiences or even abductions by aliens. Only in recent decades it has been resumed study currently vehiculându being not less than 40 theories about déjà vu.

While it turned out that studying the phenomenon is not within everyone's reach as a deja vu happens quickly, unannounced only to certain people and not have the characteristic. In other words, it is a short-term feeling makes us feel now some glimpses of the past. But who can experience it? "I was about six when I had first deja vu. I do not even know what it's called! I remember I was playing with a little girl in her room and I thought I heard another time when everything she says. Very strange feeling, "Mirela dăzvăluit us. A similar experience took Sanda: "We had many déjà vu in my life. Most, when I was a kid. I was walking along in the car with my aunt and I realized that I'm very familiar places we passed, though I had never been in that area. " What the two have in common is the early age at which confessions happened déjà vu sites. And it's no coincidence. Studies show that most of the sensations of this kind occurring in early life. In fact, scientists have even drafted a "sketch" of the person experiencing déjà vu: is aged between 15 and 25 years, disposable income, higher education, imagination and the ability to remember what dreamed at night.

Doctors were among the first specialists interested in the phenomenon, the emergence of déjà vu ground sites even before the onset of seizures in epileptic patients. However, they do not have a clear explanation for the presence of this false impression of familiarity, but may be the result of errors in the operation of the memory. If perceptions of current passing through part of the brain that processes memories of the past, these perceptions will seem to be memories, and the person will have the feeling that relives a moment from the past. Unfortunately there were no great progress with regard to discovering the causes that trigger the phenomenon in healthy people. And the lack of such information gave way to speculation of all kinds: from some "short circuits" of memory caused by experiments made by extraterrestrial human brain to "simple" memories from another life.

Whatever the starting point of déjà vu sensation and as stimuli that activate more important is to know how to relate to this phenomenon. For it must be determined whether the episode is perceived as a good experience or not. Some people are terrified during an episode of déjà vu, while others declare even euphoric. If you include fear, it is recommended to seek help in the person of a psychologist or a neurologist specializing in epilepsy. They can make the difference between epilepsy and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other psychiatric disorders may be confused with seizures. Once you have eliminated the possibility of these diseases do not only have to perceive déjà vu sites of your life as some harmless extrasensory experiences. More than that, if you're worried about enriching spiritual experience, we recommend Zen and Vipassana meditation courses, as both emphasize a harmonious far as possible.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Professor Toby Walsh who teaches artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales and is head of the research group Data61 the Center of Excellence for Information and Communications Technology in Sydney, Australia, talks about the next generation of robots ultraperformant among them about category killer robots.
In an interview with US television station CNN, Toby Walsh says that spent
whole life studying artificial intelligence, but that came to fear that, more specifically, its strength when used as a weapon in the form of robots murderous criminals.

The specialist points out five categories of such robots, stating that it is imperative that they be "stopped in time" to not destroy humanity.

1. Generation killer robot is approaching. American experts say that in 2029 we might have a type of robot as "Terminator". If we consider the drones, this type of robot used for non violent purposes already exists and will be offensive and horns are increasingly sophisticated.

Other examples - Predator Hellfire missiles or - that the next version will no longer have human control, but will be controlled by a computer program. It is amazing that this is possible right now from a technical standpoint.

2. It will be an arms race. When these "geniuses" of technology will appear, and will start an arms race, which will tend to perform increasingly higher. However, computers hip sites doubles in size every two years, which will result in a relatively short period exponential growth of killer robots.

3. killer robots proliferate. Future generations of robots murderers will not cost a lot, and their price will decrease with time, as happens with drones, for instance, the price of which has dropped significantly in ultimiii years. They will also be very easy to build. It would take only a Quadcopter a smartphone and a small weapon or a bomb, and because this system to become a killer robot would be no need for a specialist in software.
The soldiers of the future will be excited about this technology because robots do not need rest or sleep, or long and tedious training. Instead, they act effectively on the battlefield, and if "will fall on duty" not appropriate to be recovered.

The less good news is that the killer robots may move at a time and on
soldiers, and they will have to defend themselves and the only way is to "change the brain 'robot warriors, thus adapting it to the realities.

4. The robots can kill innocent people. The Intercept points out that killer robots could kill innocent people in the event of war. One of the examples of such cases are military operations the US since 2011, the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan, when "about 9 out of 10 people" from those who were killed by drones "were not Direct targets pursued by Americans ". The Intercept stresses that robots can not detect a "situation" can make some as a human mind. For them there is only "target", thus producing "collateral damage". So far, there have been invented "human drones" to think like a human being.

5. A more complicated situation where drones would be "completely independent". In time, they will develop further and will reach "on par" with human pilots and even exceed them in his performance. Already there are speculations on this topic and even conspiracy theories. For instance, might robots criminals to slip into the wrong hands and to initiate criminal actions against innocent civilians. But the biggest pewricol is acesla that these robots could turn into the perfect weapons for terrorists in the near future. Finally, and wars could break out between robots, in which case the situation could easily escape control and battlefield scenario would look like in video games.

Friday, January 29, 2016

Spotlight journalism and epic action film Mad Max: Fury Road Sunday night won numerous awards at this year's edition of Critic's Awards in Hollywood, which are awarded by the American press criticism, reports AFP Monday. Such prizes awarded Golden Globes on 10 January, these awards are both productions of cinema and television and are considered indicators of possible Oscar winners in February. Spotlight, Boston Globe newspaper about the investigation on the scandal of pedophile priests, won Best Film and Best Ensemble.

Leonardo DiCaprio won the award for best actor in the film 'The Revenant' is an ode dedicated to survival. While Brie Larson won the award for best actress in the thriller Room.

The biggest winner of the evening was the latest movie Mad Max series, with nine awards out of a total of 13 nominations, among them one for Best Picture of acţiune.The Big Short, which tells the tragicomic key celebrate US economic crisis in 2008, won the award for best comedy, while Vice Versa (turned upside down) won the award for best animated film.

Regarding television, cyber-thriller series Mr Robot, a young computer programmer who lives a double life, won the title of Best Drama Series and Masters of None, the best sitcom.

The award for best actor in a television series went to Jeffrey Tambor, who plays a transsexual father of a family in the hit transparent. The award for best actress in a comedy television series was won by Rachel Bloom, who created, wrote and performs the title role in Crazy ex-girlfriend.Hollywood
And Carrie Coon won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for his role in 'The Leftovers', which has a script unsettling: from day to day, 2% of the population disappears mysteriously arucându them those close an existential anguish.
The Mercedes want people to be quiet about the new technology Car-to-X on the new E-Class, so they brought a researcher MIT to explain why you should not fear that robots will conquer the world and dominate humanity.

Car-to-X communication refers obviously communication between vehicles and between vehicles and transport infrastructure. The basic idea involves using sensors to create a safe and efficient experience driving. The concept is interesting as possible and, as I said above, will be part of the new E-Class. It's a huge step towards autonomous driving, and that's just what Mercedes aims. However, do not overlook the fact that people are not ready to see how machines communicate with each other.

To allay fears, Mercedes brought Professor Andrew McAfee to talk about artificial intelligence and the fact that it does not degenerate into a situation like the one seen in I, Robot. According to the Jalopnik were not blown a few words about machine learning and artificial intelligence, but a complex, about principles and unfounded fears. Also, MIT expert explained why people like Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates Elon Musk have the same fears regarding artificial intelligence. For example, chess was considered a supreme test of human intelligence, but in the last 20 years, computers have become invincible in this game. Obviously, the idea of ​​a super-intelligent machines, which is better than men at all, it's a little scary concept.

Although Elon Musk said at one point that artificial intelligences will awaken the demons, McAfee says that the idea that machines become self-aware and begin to communicate spontaneously and moved between them is very far from reality. Basically, we worry about this aspect it's like we worried that the planet Mars will become overpopulated.